Ben & Jerry’s and the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival are wrapping up their series of ‘secret’ scoop shop shows with a very special free concert by Phish bassist Mike Gordon this Sunday, November 7th at 1:00 pm outside the Ben & Jerry’s store on the corner of Haight & Ashbury Streets. That’s right, it’s a free outdoor concert smack in the middle of the historic Haight-Ashbury district!

The Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop at 1480 Haight Street will host the free outdoor show as well as give away free samples of their “Bonnaroo Buzz” and “Phish Food” ice creams to attendees (while supplies last).

Mike Gordon is currently on tour supporting his third solo album MOSS, which was released on October 19th on Rounder Records. Mike’s bandmates in Phish – keyboardist Page McConnell and drummer Jon Fishman – also make appearances on MOSS.

Following Mike’s FREE performance at the Ben & Jerry’s Haight Ashbury location, he and his band headline a SOLD OUT show at The Independent later that night.

See you there!

*”In the City and County of San Francisco, during the hours between seven a.m. and 11 p.m., it is unlawful to sit or lie down upon a public sidewalk, or upon a blanket, chair, stool, or any other object placed on a public sidewalk.”

Ovation and Comcast Xfinity are a proud sponsor of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Ovation turns great art and culture into great television. All day, every day, Ovation showcases movies, biographies and documentaries about actors, musicians, artists and creators of all kinds. Tune-in to Ovation on Comcast Channel 270 or visit OvationTV.com for other local channel listings and program schedule.

“The three-week performing arts festival is coming to San Francisco’s Central Market district. The event, aptly called 24 Days of Central Market Arts, kicks off on Mint Plaza with a weekend of performances by acclaimed local companies on Friday, September 24 through Sunday, September 26. The kick-off weekend includes dance, live music and family-friendly arts activities for all to enjoy the uniquely vibrant arts scene that the neighborhood offers.

The Central Market Arts Festival continues through October 17 with curated performances in dance, music and theatre at a variety of venues. With the theme of “Bringing Art to Our Neighborhood Streets/Bringing People to Where Art is Made“, festival organizers aim to encourage audiences to visit the spaces where art is envisioned and created. Following the kick-off weekend on Mint Plaza, festival programs will be presented in satellite venues ranging from nearby businesses to fully equipped theatres and studios. Programming is dynamic, with events being added daily.”

It might go something like this, like when the The Liss Fain Dance Company put on a show at the Mint Plaza. Just a guess:

See you there!

MAYOR NEWSOM ANNOUNCES KICK-OFF OF FIRST ANNUAL CENTRAL MARKET ARTS FESTIVAL
3-Week Festival to Highlight Arts and Culture in the Central Market Area

San Francisco, CA— Mayor Gavin Newsom announced the kick-off weekend for the new Central Market Arts Festival which premieres in Mint Plaza this Friday at noon and continues over three weeks in satellite locations that showcase arts and culture establishments in the area. The arts festival is part of a comprehensive effort to catalyze arts and culture establishments on Market Street between 5th and 9th Streets, cultivating the area as a destination spot for both tourists and local arts patrons.

“We are excited to highlight the incredible resources in our City’s arts community and continue cultivating Central Market as a premier venue for arts and cultural organizations in San Francisco,” said Mayor Newsom. “Our intention is for the Central Market Arts Festival to become an annual event and for it to serve as another piece of the City and the community’s work to revitalize the area.”

The arts festival is sponsored by the City and supported in part through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, which awarded the City a $250,000 grant for the revitalization of Central Market through the enhancement of the cultural arts district. As part of the festival, the recently-inaugurated UN Plaza Art Market, running Thursdays from 12-6pm, will begin hosting street food trucks during the lunch hour.

The festival is organized by the Central Market Community Benefit District in partnership with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, KUNST-STOFF Arts, The Garage Theater, and Denia Dance, all of which are located on Market Street or seeking space there. Other participating groups include the Exit Theatre, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, The Luggage Store Gallery, Levy Dance, Margaret Jenkins Dance Lab, People in Plazas, and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance.

With events that span many types of performance and visual arts, this festival will begin its kick off weekend with outdoor performances at Mint Plaza from Friday, September 24th through Sunday, September 26th where a full day of family and youth performances will take place. Project Bandaloop will swing and dangle above Mint Plaza as one of the spectacular performances that will take place on the kick off weekend for the three-week festival. For more information, go to www.centralmarketarts.org

Throughout the three weeks, UN Plaza Art Market will host a special art show by students of the Art Institute, live music and food trucks during the lunchtime hours from the organizers of Off the Grid. The Art Market, organized by Independent Arts and Media with sponsorship from the City, will continue through December.

“Zeum will feature interactive The Clone Wars-themed activities, costumes, workshops, exhibits and lightsaber activities. Visitors of all ages can train with Jedi Mastersand learn how to wield a glowing lightsaber. In the Animators Studio, children and families can create untold stories of a galaxy far, far away by building clay models or using Hasbro action figures to bring the adventure to life. Inspired fans can also write a script, mix a soundtrack and direct their own Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode using Zeum’s green screen special effects.

Other highlights include photo opportunities with Star Wars: The Clone Wars characters and special guests.

But, as you know, getting anything done in the 415 ain’t cheap – San Francisco has a well-earned reputation of being America’s most expensive city in which to conduct business, west of Chicago anyway. So why not see what you can do to help?

Check it:

“The Black Rock Arts Foundation is proud to collaborate with artistsSean Orlando, Nathaniel Taylor, David Shulman, and their talented crew (FiveTonCrane.org) on the installation of the iconic, large-scale sculpture, The Raygun Gothic Rocketship at Pier 14 on San Francisco’s waterfront from August 2010 until September 2011. The 40-foot-tall art piece, The Raygun Gothic Rocketship, offers a retro-futuristic, highly-stylized vision of space travel circa 1930’s-1940’s science fiction and is the latest in a series of temporary public art exhibitions sponsored by BRAF with the aim of enlivening and activating public spaces.“

(If we can manage to keep the vandals, the taggers (both corporate and non), away from this thing, we’ll be in good shape.)

“Dear Friend:

You are invited to join us in celebration of the Black Rock Arts Foundation’s latest Civic Arts Programproject, the installation of the Raygun Gothic Rocketship at Pier 14 in San Francisco, California. Come hear more about this ambitious undertaking from the crew that made it happen. Enjoy entertainment, dj’s, light refreshments and surprises from the Rocketship crew! The Rocketship will remain on view, free to the public, until October 7, 2011!”

*Sadly, the ship’s hatch won’t be open to the public for various reasons, like the ADA and the chance of falls from 15 feet up etc…

San Francisco’s leading museums are having a free for all and you¹re
invited! It’s one big weekend of fun as the de Young Museum, Asian Art
Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the Contemporary Jewish
Museum, the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), Zeum: San Francisco¹s
Children’s Museum and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival take turns welcoming all
ages with free general admission, free hands-on art making activities for
kids and special family-friendly free performances thanks to the generous
support of Target. It’s a marathon of creativity and discovery for all ages
so mark your calendar now. You won’t want to miss the family-friendliest
weekend that San Francisco has to offer!

WHAT:
Target Arts & Wonder ­ free admission for all ages with special art
activities and performances for children and families at seven San Francisco
cultural destinations including the de Young, Asian Art Museum, SFMOMA, the
Contemporary Jewish Museum, MoAD, Zeum and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival

DATE AND TIME:
Friday, July 16, 2010 ­ de Young Museum free from 5 PM to 8:45 PM

Journey from India to Japan as you stroll through the galleries
Take a storytelling tour and learn about gods, goddesses, emperors,
philosophers and more

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)

Go BIG — see for yourself how larger-than-life artworks transform the
ordinary into the EXTRAordinary
Create your own enormous art — make an everyday object into something 10
times its size

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Celebrate the everyday in the whimsical exhibition Maira Kalman: Various
Illuminations (of a Crazy World)
Marvel at the magic of ordinary objects by crafting fabric buttons,
decorating bags and watching Sweet Can Productions make brooms dance and
more

Museum of the African Diaspora

Zeum: San Francisco’s Children’s Museum

Sculpt and film your own clay animation
Ride the historic Zeum Carousel

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival

Come in costume and get ready to join the conga line as we celebrate the
international spirit of Carnaval with non-stop performances in the Gardens
from 12-3 PM by Mas Makers Massive, SambAsia, Fogo Na Roupa,
Sistas-wit-Style, Tambores de Colombian Soul, Latin All Stars, Chelle! and
Friends, and Mixtiso

*Please note that all de Young exhibitions are free except Birth of
Impressionism. A special timed ticket for $15 adults, $10 children ages 6-17
is required for entry to this exhibition only. Children 5 and under are
free.

*Please note that all Asian Art Museum exhibitions are free except Shanghai.
A ticket for $5 for ages 18 and older is required for entry to this
exhibition only. Youth 17 and under are free.

Background
Target Arts & Wonder is part of the Target commitment to arts and education.
Since 1946, the company has given 5 percent of its income to support
education, the arts, social services and volunteerism. Today, that adds up
to more than $3 million a week. During the third weekend of July, more than
80 institutions in 30 cities across the country will participate in the
Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Event.

Are we saying to get there way early in the day? I think that’s what we’re saying.

Irregardless, NBC’s accounts of when people got into line and when they were able to ride that day (if ever) are enlightening. And, agreed, it’s probably not a good use of time to drive all the way up from San Hoser just to try to go for a 20-second zip.